Team Dynamics
by Silvermane177
Summary: ShuMako Week 2019 Day 2: Power Couple/Leaders. With Noir recently joining the Phantom Thieves, she has some observations on how the team operates, and is lead. Namely by Queen's precise analysis and Joker's charisma.


Haru found the leadership of the Phantom Thieves to be an oddly inspiring phenomenon. Her whole introduction to the Metaverse through Morgana had required a lot of patience and perception on her part, the creature's constant boasting making an already confusing situation even harder to handle. She was more than willing to endure the confusion, as she had just been so desperate to reach her father that even this strange supernatural option appealed to her, and she could admit to herself she was excited BECAUSE of the supernatural aspect.

Joker and Queen though, had a much different approach handling the Metaverse than Mona. Unlike the feline's constant claims of awesomeness, those two preferred to prove their competence with action. Precise, dynamic, and constant action.

She shouldn't really be surprised, given what she knew about the student council president. Makoto's reputation of being a cold capable figure of authority translated especially well here. It was a little difficult not to feel the slightest bit intimidated by her regal demeanor.

In contrast to the cold front from Queen, Joker welcomed her into the fold with such warm openness it made Haru's heart flutter. He lead the team with a confusing amount of styles, each one appropriate for its intended target and the situation they were in. He fed Mona's ego after a failed hit, motivating the creature to crit his next attempt. He teased Skull after the vulgar boy was hit, instilling a defiant fire in the blonde to endure the pain to pull through till the end of the battle. With a mere flirty wink over to Panther, he was able to signal her to charm a Shadow when a negotiation turned sour.

And with her…

Joker seemed to still be figuring her out, because he'd been trying just about everything on her with little success.

Haru spent her life growing up around people who wanted things from her. Whether it was attention from her father, or her wealth, or recently her body. She learned fast how to identify insincerity behind requests and actions. It lead to a rather guarded heart, and the leader of the Phantom Thieves seemed to be struggling with it. Though his words and deed had been so honest, so open, she found herself wanting to help him figure it out.

In the end, it was actually an interaction with Queen that gave Joker his breakthrough. The team had been going through a long stretch of her father's palace with Shadows weak to nuclear or psi. Watching the student council president so calculating, so efficient, so capable as she tore through their enemies made Noir give pause to admire, the team adviser firing off a command to her to have Milady unleash her spell into a crowd.

After seeing Queen act so brilliantly, how could Noir allow herself to do any less?

The resulting psi blast devastated the gaggle of enemies, Joker catching the reaction with an appraising grin.

The rest of their journey through the Palace had Joker and Queen working brilliantly together, their orders to Noir met with eager enthusiasm. It seemed a little arrogant in a way, the two flaunting their impeccable teamwork and their own incredible skills, but the display only invigorated Haru even more. She yearned to reach that level of ability herself.

It wasn't until they reached the safe room that Haru realized just how tired she had been. She nearly collapsed into the chair at the end of the table, leaning her elbows onto the cold hard surface for support.

A few mumbled whispers caught her attention, the girl glancing to the side to see Joker and Queen attending to the various Phantom Thieves. Joker left Panther to check with Skull, Queen acting sisterly towards an excited Oracle pointing at her screen.

That made her smile. Even though fatigue had been seeping into their movements, both of them still made the effort to ensure the team's safety and wellbeing, even when resting. "Those two really are something, huh?" Noir said offhand, Panther tilting her head.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. We're really lucky to have Queen." She assessed with a nod. "Joker was good before she came in, but together we've become pretty unstoppable~"

Haru found it fairly natural to converse with the girl, Panther's bubbly nature easy to be friendly towards. "They do seem to be quite the effective team…" She remarked, watching as the two briefly rejoined to exchange some hushed words. Haru noticed the way their body language changed when with each other, the calm comfort they shared. "Is something going on between them?" She wondered idly, watching Joker nonchalantly tapping Queen's upper arm affectionately before parting.

That question seemed to make Panther a little flustered. "What? No! Um... I don't think so…" She said uncertainly, looking a bit insecure and tossing a longing glance over at their leader.

Ah.

Well, it made sense. Joker WAS rather cute in a way. And very dependable. Haru herself finding herself giggling at the thought. And if he was reading her mind, the smirking young man sat down next to her, handing her a drink.

"Glad to see you're still in high spirits, Noir." He grinned. "Here. Drink up. You've been spending a lot of energy out there." Panther flashed him a look of adoration from his display of kindness, Haru accepting the offer and feeling the refreshment restore her a little.

"Thank you."

"Oracle thinks we're a little past the halfway mark. We'll probably push on just a little more before calling it off today. You up for that?"

Haru hesitated, she honestly wanted to settle this complicated matter with her father as soon as possible. "Oh. I was hoping we'd make it a bit farther…"

"I'm sorry Noir. But this last batch of Shadows required too many spells, draining the team's power, and too many bullets, draining our ammo. We just don't have the resources." Queen explained, sitting down next to her. Haru believed her too, since Queen and Joker had spent a majority of the time on the front lines. She tried not to let her disappointment from the assessment show, but felt a reassuring hand cover hers.

"Hey. We're doing great. We still have plenty of time before our deadline." Joker comforted, his blood-red glove covering her own. The warmth of his gaze matched the warmth of his touch.

"And given how far we HAVE come so far just today, I predict it won't take very much longer to reach the treasure." Queen added. The two of them sounded so confident, so self-assured, so proficient that Haru couldn't help but feel her spirits lifted.

She nodded.

"Right. Point me in the right direction."

She felt the determination from Milady help urge her forward without hesitation. Although, she did notice the look exchanged between Joker and Queen, the innocent way they brushed together when exiting the room, and the constant little smirks they shared.

It did make Haru just a little jealous, but also inspired her too. If Queen could work so amazingly well with Joker, then surely Noir could do the same.

The young woman brandished her axe and targeted a Shadow, eager to show just how useful she could be as well. Maybe it could be enough to catch Joker's eye the way Queen had…

* * *

(A/N: Never really worked with Haru before, the poor girl was kinda unlucky with her development in the game so she never appealed much to me. As a result, I think I failed at portraying her character accurately here, but hopefully at least in a new intriguing way. I found it interesting what stats the different girls required to start or continue their confidant ranks. I felt that should probably be a little indicative of their own preferences, so Haru would be attracted to people who are competent/useful/proficient. Which of course means she'd have a high respect for both Joker and Queen.)


End file.
